Jeff – Ah yes, “Living the Salt Life”. I grew up 60 miles from the coast and as a kid, about the only vacation my family could afford was a day on the beach. Still love it. Can you tell from the photos there’s a hurricane in the gulf?

Yes, there are lots more fish on the menu!

4WD – that’s quite a compliment coming from a Marq Master. I just can’t seem to get them out of my system…Here is a 20 inch “rough and chubby” I just made for the economy market.

Thanks for the support Conga. BTW…love the eagle. To answer your question; if not happy, then at the very least I’m content when carving. It’s kind of like a meditation for me; my grumpy characters are separate entities and I am not responsible for their disposition. Then again, some of my friends say that I’m not happy unless I’m pissed off. I don’t pay too much attention to them. They’re mostly a bunch of wise guys anyway.
Here is an image from an earlier and more carefree time. I call it “Happy Campers”.

Will, I'm pretty sure the vast majority of males on the planet have worn that expression on their faces at some point. I know I have.

Thanks for the compliment Jerome. For the last year I've been doing a lot of the economy carvings. I'm really trying to make this frame something I can be proud of. It's a bit of a departure from what I usually do so we'll see how it turns out. It's fun to crank out those sweaty carves but not very satisfying otherwise. Hope to get back to business in 2014 and do some better quality work.

Always flattered when you stop by Marcus!

Well, I'm getting down close to the bottom of the page so might as well post more of my foolishness. Kind of fun but not my best. These have been finished for several months and I wasn't even going to post them. Hopefully, I'll have better things to come.

Hey, thanks a lot Nixx. The photos are much like the carvings...some turn out a lot better than others. I just try to keep learning and having fun.

I’ll be trying to taper off carving Marqs ...
will be going to the Rapanui style to study the art of the Tohunga whakairo.
I glued up the rongo rongo picture frame and stained it. I’ll put on a top coat tomorrow and call it complete.

Birdman panel - 10”x18”x2

Also started another another Moai.

And I finished the redfish panel. Rough sawn pine plank 35”x11”x4”. October is excellent for both catching and carving redfish…

enjoying the salt life…Some guy stalking redfish in my spot. I liked the light so I decided to shoot him. (with my camera)